An Ounce of Prevention...
…Boards in Times of Change
Non-profit boards function in several important areas: to help create sustainable organizations, to hold fiduciary responsibility, to be ambassadors, to support non-profits (NPOs) financially, and to hire and support the chief executive officer. During both easy times and tough times, a good board weathers the storm by drawing on strong systems and policies they already have in place, paying attention to mission and strategy, managing change and partnering effectively with the executive director. During the recent pandemic, SmarterWisdom learned a lot about effective boards and strong board-senior leader relationships. It became clear to us that the necessary change management, during this time of significant disruption, highlighted where good, sustainable practice exists and where systems and policies might need more attention. Learning on-the-job through real-time issues always has its benefits, of course; finding ways to integrate any new learning into both day-to-day and long-term practice is vital to success and growth for organizations—and readiness for the next threat.
Research shows us that boards and leaders who have already faced different kinds of crises, perhaps the need to cut programs, or a significant loss of accustomed admissions sources in schools, or a public relations scandal of some kind, or the loss of a senior leader mid-term and so on, are better equipped to face new ones, such as the pandemic. Schools, for example, who put policies and practices in place during the mid-2000s SARS-epidemic crisis, or even just surfaced the key generative questions, were more prepared for the recent challenges related to Covid. Having faced different trials and tests, organizations that incorporate ongoing reflective learning from these experiences, and create replicable, sustainable approaches, will thrive during new challenges and threats.
In addition, NPOs with sound pre-existing policies and structures that could readily be called upon for use in exigent times, fared well. Some examples are: clear succession guidelines for board leadership and nomination procedures for new board members; knowing and capitalizing on the make-up of your board and building regular board retreats, Big Think-type sessions, all serve you well in the good times and prepare you for the more difficult times.
Ultimately the recent pandemic was an interruption, sadly now ongoing, to business as normal. Choosing to generate new ideas and responsive structures in the face of this disruption serves all organizations well. SmarterWisdom’s hope is to guide those we work with to capitalize on the state of affairs, not just passively experiencing the challenging context, but deliberately learning and growing from it.
Many schools, for example, created small management committees for the Covid crisis—cross-functional groups that might consider unusual circumstances, brainstorm, run scenarios and be nimble in their responses. Here was a chance to pull in medical professionals, facilities directors, tech experts and general managers on the board to serve at a new level of guidance. Helping board members toggle between operational matters and strategic matters during a time of crisis can be helpful, and smart. Agility during a time of significant change indicates a readiness for growth. Strong, reflective boards and leaders might consider this “task force” approach as a model for other response strategies: create short-term, not standing committees, to consider exigent issues?
Working to analyze and understand your institution's response to the disruption of the Covid 19 pandemic allows the experience shared by trustees to become new organizational wisdom that can stay with you and inform future structural and cultural development, thus sustaining a healthy, sustainable and effective openness to good governance.
A stitch in time…saves nine; an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure: these proverbs have definitely stood the test of time. Benjamin Franklin coined the second in 1738 in order to remind the inhabitants of Philadelphia to watch out for the risk of fire. We are not yet sure what the 21st Century version of these sayings might be, but we do know that time spent on reflection and understanding will always create better outcomes, and in this case, stronger boards and more resilient leadership.